World Class Programs

I definitely had my preconceived ideas of what this trip would be like but I was blown away with how much it exceeded them! I did the 4 week option for the trip because I knew there was no way to see enough of Italy with the shorter options. My parents were a little worried because I'm an only child and they didn't know what to expect but my mom was emailing the program director constantly and that helped her feel better. Meanwhile I was having the time of my life! The classes were actually interesting and engaging so even when we were in class it was great! My favorite part was the weekend trips to other cities around Italy! Venice is my favorite city in the world now! I loved this trip and I'm working on going to another country with World Class Programs next year!

After my friend went on a trip to Costa Rica two summers ago and told me about how amazing it was that she could speak Spanish with the locals and traveling was such an adventure! I found World Class Programs and signed up for their Seville trip cause I knew I wanted to see Europe but also use the skills I learned in my Spanish class. It was such a cool experience to be completely immersed in this culture that until then I had only read about in class.

My experience traveling with World Class Programs (WCP) was one of the best experiences of my life. I became so close with my roommates and the staff members especially, and they always kept our best interests at heart and cared about us and what we wanted to get out of the trip. At the end of the trip, I felt like I was leaving my family behind as I was only able to participate in 2 weeks out of the full 3. Originally, I had planned to study Spanish in Seville, Spain with my school exchange program, but at the very last minute things did not work out and I applied to WCP very last minute, and they were so accommodating and welcomed me to the program with open arms. While this was the first year of WCP's Osaka, Japan trip, it felt as though the program had been running for years. The staff knew the city like the back of their hand, and they showed us around the country like natives to give us the inside scoop of what it feels like to really be a citizen of that country, and not just be a tourist- something I had never experienced before. I came back from the program having matured so greatly: I felt more prepared for college as I learned how to cook, clean, maintain good relationships with roomates, do laundry, buy Japanese subway tickets, etc, and it not only grew my knowledge but made me a better person. WCP focuses on "experimental learning" as opposed to sitting in a classroom, so for my two courses: photography and cuisine, we went out and took pictures, made food, and tried different traditional Japanese foods as opposed to just learning about them. The program was centered in Osaka, but in our two weeks we visited everywhere from seeing deer in Nara to partaking in the Peace Festival in Hiroshima on the anniversary of the bombings in World War II. We did karaoke, saw a Pokemon movie entirely in Japanese, went bowling, and the list goes on and on. I strongly recommend this program because of the incredibly devoted and kind staff, the commitment to each student and their experience, and the once in a lifetime opportunity. Being 1/4 Japanese, it was so wonderful to experience more deeply a culture I already knew well, and I learned so much more about it than I ever thought was possible. I hope to come back next year to another trip with World Class Programs and hope everyone decides to get them a try.